New Jedi Team: Recollections
by SurferSquid
Summary: An anthology of snapshots in the lives of a group of young Jedi at Luke Skywalker's Yavin IV Praxeum.
1. Craftings

Excitement at the praxeum was at a fervid high: the new Padawan recruits had finally begun lightsaber training. For many, it was a highly-awaited time. For Tierra, lightsaber combat was more something to approach with utmost reverence and respect than get overly excited about.

Siri tried in vain to coolly suppress her own glee over finally getting to use the vaunted weapon. "It's really rather easy, Tierra," she'd said as Lukatz handed her and Ackoy their training sabers. "Just watch me; I've got experience in these things."

"Push the activation button on the side," Lukatz instructed, using his own lightsaber as an example, "and it'll ignite." He clicked in the button on the hilt, and sure enough, with a sharp hiss, a brilliant emerald blade of energy extended from his hands.

"Wow," Tierra whispered, entranced by the lightsaber's steady glow and low hum of energy. Luke had some business to finish up with a few of the senior Knights, and so Tierra was sitting in with Siri and Ackoy for their first lightsaber lesson while she waited for her master.

Ackoy inspected the hilt of his training lightsaber. "Looks dangerous," he commented reluctantly.

"Oh, it is," Siri replied offhandedly as she ignited hers.

The Mon Calamari took a few cautious steps away from his fellow Padawan.

"Danger is just part of a Jedi's job," Lukatz commented grimly. "But your lightsaber isn't just a dangerous weapon—it's a tool for defense. Did you know, if you're really precise, you can block blaster bolts with it? Anyway, don't worry about it for now. These training lightsabers are permanently set to a lower energy level, so even if you do get hit, it'll only cause temporary numbness. But…try not to get hit. It's good practice."

"That's great," Siri interrupted, brushing off everything her master had just tried to tell them. "Can we _use_ them now?"

"Okay…follow me as we go through some strikes and blocks," Lukatz said. "This'll help you to get the feel of how a lightsaber handles." He moved slowly and deliberately, swinging his saber into solid stances with focused precision and utmost concentration. To Tierra, it seemed like an elaborate, one-person waltz.

"Come, join in," Lukatz continued, motioning to his Padawans.

Ackoy carefully, studiously progressed through the forms, but Tierra watched as Siri progressed awkwardly, frequently fumbling and looking like she was having trouble controlling her lightsaber.

"Something the matter, Siri?" Lukatz asked.

"I think something's wrong with mine," she replied, giving it a few ungainly test swings.

"Let me see it…" Lukatz tested the weapon and gave it back to the girl. "Feels fine to me. Sometimes it's just a little difficult for new students to get used to handling a lightsaber—because the blade is made of pure energy, the hilt carries all of the weight, and it takes a bit of time to adjust to the unusual balance properties."

Siri looked down, blushing crimson. For once in her tenure at the praxeum, she hadn't automatically been better at something than Ackoy. That stung.

"It's all right," Lukatz said, patting her on the shoulder. "That's why I'm here. Let's keep practicing."

"I thought you said you knew how to use a lightsaber," Ackoy muttered as they went through the forms.

"I, uh, I've used a vibrosword before," Siri admitted. "I thought lightsabers weren't that different."

"But you told me your mother gave you one when you were five and it was destroyed when you saved—"

"Oh, stuff it."

Tierra watched their banter with amusement; she had learned long before that Siri was prone to exaggeration.

"Tierra?"

Tierra spun around to see Master Skywalker standing behind her; she rose and bowed to him.

"Ready to start practicing?" he asked with a grin, holding out a training lightsaber.

She nodded and took it carefully. The metal hilt felt cold and smooth on her hands, and she couldn't help but run her fingers along its contours. It was a bit heavier than she had expected. Tierra remembered how, earlier in the day, Master Skywalker had explained to her how lightsabers worked and how they were constructed; most of the terms and concepts were completely foreign to her, but she knew she ought to pay attention, as she'd have to build her own eventually.

"I see you've been watching Lukatz and his Padawans…you probably already know how to ignite your lightsaber, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah…um, let me see…" Tierra sought out the activation button and pressed it cautiously, but it did not respond to her touch, so she jabbed it in a little harder. With a sudden spurt, the green blade erupted in front of her, the light and sound catching her by surprise. Indeed, as Lukatz had said, the blade possessed no weight at all, yielding a rather odd sensation as she moved the lightsaber around tentatively and felt only the hilt in her hands. "Incredible," she breathed.

"Yes, they are very elegant weapons," Luke agreed. "Let me show you some of the basic moves. These should serve you well in almost any combat situation, and they help improve your coordination."

"Combat…" Tierra lowered the lightsaber thoughtfully. She knew what learning to use lightsabers meant. It was the rite of passage into being able to take on more dangerous missions. From now on, they were expected to fight at their masters' sides…and die by them, if need be.

"Are you afraid?" Luke asked.

"Um…kinda," Tierra shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. She knew it wasn't working.

"Don't be," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Fear should have no place in the heart of a Jedi. Remember, fear leads to the dark side. Even the most well-intentioned fear is dangerous." Seeing that he had her attention, he continued. "If you fear something, it is because you do not understand it. If you do not understand something, it is difficult to truly make peace with it. And what do we, as Jedi, strive to do?"

"Maintain peace and order in the galaxy," Tierra recited. "You're right, Master Skywalker. I know, it's just…I don't want to die."

"No one ever really does, Tierra. But that, in itself, is a form of fear. Since life is all we know, the unfamiliarity of death frightens us. I wouldn't worry about it. Just think of death as the next great adventure."

"Yeah, but…my family…" She didn't even want to think about how devastated they would be if she were killed.

"I have a feeling," Luke said, looking at her so their blue eyes connected, "that you'll live to do everything you need to do—that this galaxy needs you to do. The Force has a way of protecting people who haven't finished their jobs here. Call it destiny, if you will."

"…Thank you, Master Skywalker," Tierra said. "That…makes me feel better." She smiled and raised her lightsaber again. "Let's continue."

"_NO."_

"Tra'ave, you're being absolutely childish!"

"I will _not_, Cilghal."

"It's your responsibility as a Jedi, Tra'ave!"

Tierra stood in the doorway of the praxeum infirmary, watching as Cilghal argued with her Twi'lek Padawan, and wondering if stepping in would be wise.

"Tra'ave," Cilghal sighed, "the lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi. If you don't take it up—"

"No, Cilghal," was the understated, yet firm reply.

"'No' this, 'no' that! Sometimes I even wonder if you know the meaning of the word _'yes'!_" the Mon Calamari woman huffed.

Tra'ave's face fell—any traces of defiance in his expression melted into a deep sorrow that tugged at Tierra's heart to behold. "I'm sorry…Cilghal…but I can't," he said haltingly, struggling to get the words out—or was he struggling to keep words in? "Please…I don't want to kill. I want to heal."

Cilghal, in turn, composed herself. "…I apologize, Tra'ave…I didn't mean to lash out at you. You're just…really frustrating sometimes, you know that?"

The faintest hint of a bitterly amused smile flashed across the Twi'lek's face. "I know."

"What's the matter?" Tierra asked, making her presence known.

Cilghal turned to look at her, surprised and slightly annoyed. "I wasn't aware we had an audience."

"Sorry…I was on my way back from lunch and wanted to see how Tra'ave was doing. I haven't seen him since breakfast," the Human girl explained. "Why weren't you at lightsaber training, Tra'ave?"

The Twi'lek grimaced. "It's…not for me."

"We've been having a bit of a…dispute, all morning," Cilghal explained. "He doesn't want to learn lightsaber combat."

"So he doesn't have to," Luke suddenly said, appearing over Tierra's shoulder. "My policy is, let students learn at their own pace; it's useless to force knowledge on them, that just creates hostility. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"Doubtful," the Twi'lek replied morosely.

Cilghal let out a long, laborious sigh and a less-than-loving glare at her Padawan. "As you wish, Master Skywalker."

"Have a good day, Tra'ave! Hope you feel better soon!" Tierra waved goodbye as she and Luke continued down the hall; Tra'ave returned the gesture halfheartedly.

"Should we go see how Bynk is doing?" Luke suggested. "Streen suggested that I check on her progress."

Tierra nodded enthusiastically. "Master Skywalker…why do you think Tra'ave doesn't want to learn to use a lightsaber?" she pondered as their boots thudded softly against the praxeum's stone floors.

Luke thought. "Tra'ave is pained by much. Something plagues him—though he refuses to discuss it, the hurt shows itself in his eyes constantly. I don't know how long it will take for him to heal…but it will be a slow process." He looked down at his Padawan. "Thank you, Tierra, for befriending him. I think having a friend like you will help him considerably."

Tierra smiled. "I hope so."

"Ah, there you are," Streen called out as the two approached. "Come to see my star pupil, hmm?" the older Human grinned.

"M-master Streen, y-you flatter me," Bynk said faintly, stepping forward and bowing to Luke and Tierra.

"Hello, Bynk," Tierra chirped, embracing her Pydyrian friend in a warm hug. "Enjoying lightsaber training?"

"So much for 'no forming attachments'," Streen whispered amusingly to Luke. "That kid never would have made it in the old Jedi Order." Luke nodded knowingly.

Bynk pulled away from her friend. "Yes, I…I do find myself enjoying it very much. I don't quite know why…but when I fight with lightsabers, I can feel the Force flowing through me stronger than at any other time, and I feel…I feel free."

"Watch this." Streen activated a spherical training droid, which slowly rose into the air until it was just above Bynk's head (which meant shoulder-level for Tierra).

"You're using training droids already?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Well, eh, to tell you the truth, Luke, we've been working on lightsaber training for a few weeks now," Streen confessed, scratching at his bushy whiskers absentmindedly. "She'd progressed so rapidly in her basic Force training that I thought I'd bump it up a notch, and…well, just watch."

He nodded to Bynk, who returned the gesture. She glanced nervously to see if Luke and Tierra were watching, then took not one, but two training lightsabers from the shelf and ignited them, holding both of them in a reverse grip so that they trailed behind her like twin tails. The droid began firing on her, and she deftly blocked the shots with the lightsaber blades, moving with grace and precision. The droid began another volley of rounds, and Bynk jumped out of the way, circling closer to the droid and continuing to deflect the blaster bolts until finally she spun one of the lightsabers around and into the droid, stunning it and knocking it to the floor. With a small smile, the Pydyrian turned the lightsabers off, clipped them to her belt, and presented the droid to Streen.

To say Tierra was impressed would have been an understatement. It also made the entire morning's worth of her training seem like child's play, she realized as she impulsively fingered the training lightsaber at her own side. Bynk had a confidence, a tempered ferocity that made a rancor look tame in comparison, and _style_.

"Bynk, that was _amazing_," Luke said with a grin. "You really have progressed a lot since you first came here. Dual-blade reverse-grip…that's pretty advanced stuff."

The Pydyrian Padawan looked at the floor and blinked, not knowing quite what to say. "I…thank you, Master Skywalker, but it was really due to Streen's excellent tutelage…"

"Tutelage nothing," Streen interjected. "I merely taught you the basics. You don't think I'd noticed when you'd stay up all night training, or brought armfuls of datapads and holocrons from the library?"

To this Bynk had no answer, so she merely shrugged humbly.

"In fact…I think it's about time this little lady builds her _own_ lightsabers," Streen finished. "She's certainly earned it."

At this, Bynk squeaked in shock and nearly fell over. "D-do you really mean it, Master?!"

"What do you say, Bynk? You've proved your skill and proficiency, and I believe you are certainly strong enough in the Force."

Bynk thought for a few long moments. "It…would be an honor, Master Streen," she finally said, bowing at his feet.

"Excellent. Tionne and I will help you begin construction on them right away." Streen took the lead, and his Padawan scuttled jauntily after him.

"Let's follow," Luke suggested to Tierra. "It would probably be good for you to see the lightsaber construction process first-hand."

The next few days passed by almost monotonously for Tierra as she watched Bynk work feverishly on her lightsabers; only the sense of intense vigour that seemed to fill the entire library kept the Human from drifting off to sleep at times, lulled into lethargy by the humid jungle air. It also helped that the plethora of historical data in the archives kept her mind awake. Siri, Ackoy, and Lukatz would drop by occasionally to check up on them, and Tra'ave even ventured into the library twice, although Tierra suspected it was more out of curiosity than anything as he made no attempt at conversation and wouldn't stay long. In the interim, there was only the ramshackle clamor of Bynk using various tools, Streen occasionally offering advice, and Tionne going about her business.

Finally, one morning, the din quieted suddenly, and Tierra found her datapad reading interrupted by a soft tap on the shoulder.

"Um…do they look all right?" Bynk asked in a small, tired voice, pointing to the table she had been laboring at for countless hours.

"Let's see…" Tierra got up from her seat and made her way over to the workspace, where she beheld a sight that had made the days of waiting worth it. Sitting in the sharp light of the table lamp were two exquisitely formed lightsaber hilts, gleaming chrome with gilded accents that practically glowed with newness. The bases of the hilts featured hooklike handguards, to augment Bynk's reverse hold, and the grips were specially formed to fit her long, three-fingered hands perfectly. "Wow, Bynk," she gasped. "These're beautiful."

The Pydyrian smiled. "You…really think so?"

"Only thing they need now are focusing crystals," Streen said, examining the hilts delicately. "Have you decided what kind you want to use?"

Bynk thought for a moment. "Yes…" she began hesitantly. "I've done some research, and…I think I want to use yaharl crystals."

"Yaharl?" Tionne walked over to the group, brushing her silver hair out of her face and tapping busily on a datapad. "Looks like we don't have any of those here…they're pretty rare. According to the database, they're only found on Murninkam…and coordinates for that planet aren't even listed."

Bynk's face fell. "Oh…"

"Don't let your hopes down yet, let's run a search on HoloNet to see if there are any suppliers who are willing to deliver," Streen suggested.

"Right," Bynk nodded, cradling the hilts protectively before gingerly clipping them to her belt and following her master out of the library.

"So…?" Luke prodded Tierra's arm playfully. "What did you think?"

"It, uh…took a long time?" she offered, only half-joking.

Luke chuckled. "It does, oh, it does. But then, most things worth doing do take quite a long time. What do you say, are you ready to build your own lightsaber now?"

Tierra looked at him quizzically. "You're kidding, right? I mean…you've just barely taught me how to use one. I'm nowhere _near_ as good as Bynk is…yet."

Her master smiled and nodded. "Good job. It takes wisdom to see one's weakness. Give it a while longer. You'll have your own lightsaber before you know it. In the meanwhile, I think observing Bynk's progress is a good indicator of what you'll be doing soon enough, don't you think?"

"Hmm…yes, I guess you're right," Tierra agreed.

"Well then, let's go see if they've found anything out."

"Coruscant."

"What?"

"There's a supplier of 'rare and unusual artifacts and antiquities' on Coruscant," Streen continued. "He's listed yaharl crystals as among his stock."

"I-is there any way to confirm that?" Bynk asked.

"Sure, we can call him up right now."

Tierra and Luke walked into the room just as Streen finished setting up communications. The display fizzled, then showed a waiting pattern, and finally a Rodian appeared, seemingly preoccupied with inspecting a small statue. "Yes, Lurd Gar here, how can I help you?" he droned in his distinctive accent, not bothering to see who was calling him.

"You run an antiquities shop, right?" Streen asked.

"Yessir, finest one you'll ever run into—well, maybe not the finest, but I've got a lotta stuff you'll never see anywhere else. Although I guess that could be said for most antiquities shops, else they wouldn't 'zactly be _antiquities_ shops, now would they?" He chortled at his own cleverness.

"Sector C-39, Iitemno Commerce District, 940 Willusa Street?" the Jedi queried.

"Yep, that's me. Look me up on HoloNet?"

"Yes. Do you have yaharl crystals?"

"Huh? You'd only be interested in those if you're a gem collector or a…" For the first time, the Rodian looked up and noticed who he was talking to. Bynk, Tierra, and Luke crowded into his line of sight, eager for his response. "…A Jedi." At this, his attitude changed instantly, and he tossed the statue nonchalantly over his shoulder and out of sight, the disastrous results of which could only be inferred by the cacophony that followed. "Well, hello there, Jedi friends!" Lurd said in his friendliest tone, mustering up the widest smile his snout had to offer. "How honored I am that you have chosen the lowly Lurd Gar to be your supplier of lightsaber crystals!"

Streen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's great," he muttered quickly under his breath. "So, do you have yaharl crystals in your stock?"

"Let me see what I can do for you, most valiant Jedi Knight!" Lurd chirped, pulling a datapad from somewhere and browsing its contents. "Lucky day for you, friend Jedi! Lurd Gar does indeed have five whole yaharl crystals in his possession, perfect condition, haven't been _touched_ since the day some spacer brought them in and sold them to me! And for you I'm willing to let them go for the low, _low_ price of fifteen thousand credits!"

Streen gawked at the prohibitive price. "N-now, waitta minute, we only need _two_…"

"I don't know, Streen, considering how rare those crystals are, we should probably buy them now while we have the chance," Luke suggested. He turned to the holodisplay. "We'll take them all. When can you have them delivered?"

"Delivered?" Lurd cocked an antenna. "Biggest apologies, Jedi patron, but Lurd Gar doesn't deliver. I prefer to deal with my customers in person—safer that way, you know. Builds good business."

Streen sighed and looked over at Luke, who shrugged. "…I guess a field trip to Coruscant has been quite long enough in coming," the older Knight finally acquiesced. "How about it, Bynk?"

"C-Coruscant? It's awfully…big…" The Pydyrian looked down at the incomplete lightsabers hanging from her belt and took a deep breath. "…All right. Let's do it."


	2. Unexpected

They found Kyron on Coruscant, a boy among droids.

"So he's like a feral child," Siri observed rather tactlessly, "except…with droids."

The straw-haired, green-eyed boy had strapped so many cybernetic augments to himself that he honestly looked half-droid and caused Tierra to wonder. One arm and one leg were covered in metal and wiring so that flesh barely poked out, and he wore an extensive headset festooned with several antennae, as though it was a social stigma here to not look suitably mechanical.

"Our apologies for the ship crash," Lukatz said to the droid-raised child and his floating, long-necked companion construct. LHE-46 was a droid of unknown make; it was rumored that his builder was a Rebel who'd died in the war and "Lhee" had somehow found his way to Coruscant's secret all-droid Theta Sector. As it was, he was one of the few machines there who was not hostile to organics, especially because he had taken Kyron in when the boy was an orphaned infant.

"Our pilot here got a little reckless," Ackoy added, shooting a glare over at Beyy Yaret, a tall, lanky Bothan with a messy shock of a brown mane wearing an old flight suit, his long chin fur carefully tucked into a ponytail.

Beyy shrugged. "It wasn't that I was reckless!" he protested, "it was that the _Trepidation_'s engine just happened to give out!"

"Maybe it wouldn't give out if you weren't so reckless!" Siri retorted.

"She's an old ship, she does that sometimes!" He stroked his goatee anxiously.

"We can fix it!" Kyron volunteered. Hailing a passing droid, he began whistling and twittering to it in an approximation of astromech-dialect binary.

"…He's good," Bynk observed.

"I taught him myself," Lhee replied a little smugly, his bright-green LED eyes narrowing in their black display.


	3. Undecided

"…Dad wants me to come home," Tierra said quietly. "He says being a Jedi is too dangerous."

Luke sighed in exasperation. "I thought he'd already given you permission." He leaned on the table. "Why has he changed his mind? Everyone knows the life of a Jedi is dangerous."

Tierra played absently with the hem of her tunic. She enjoyed the crispness the rough fabric held after being washed. "I don't know." Was she expected to know? "He has these mood swings sometimes."

Luke's lips were thin as he sat across from her at the table. Artoo bleeped in the background as he rolled about his business. "Well, it's up to you."

She looked up at him. "No, it's not. I'm not legally an adult, I can't make decisions for myself about that."

"You're a Jedi. You're capable of making your own decisions."

"Will you be mad at me if I go?"

"I'm going to be honest, I'd be disappointed. You're a promising pupil and a good kid. You'd have a lot of friends who miss you," he smiled.

Tierra studied his face. "Will you be mad at me if I stay?"

"If you disobey your father? No…" He chuckled a little and leaned back. "No, trust me, I know a thing or two about disobeying fathers." His mirth faded and he looked back at her. "The question is, whether or not you're going to do what the Force is telling you. If you really want to be a Jedi, that's a question you have to answer for yourself. Follow the Force and everything will work out. Try to feel out your own way, or bend to the whims of those who think they have authority over you, and things are bound to go wrong. Do you trust me on this?"

"Yes, Master," she nodded. She'd seen the Force work like that countless times already, in her own life and in her friends'.

"Then…I'll leave you to come to a decision." Luke stood up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I trust that you'll make the right one. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Master Skywalker."

She stayed.


	4. Discoverings

"How did I get myself into this," Kentic Jeckon moaned as he sat back in the wooden chair provided for him at the table spread with simple foods: roasted meat, cooked vegetables, and warm bread.

"Well, if I recall correctly, pirates hijacked your ship outta hyperspace and left it stranded in this system, and you sent out a distress signal," the red-armored Mandalorian sitting next to the Human man reminded him sarcastically. "Unless now you've got amnesia, on top of everything else."

The Zabrak Jedi next to the Mandalorian gave her a bit of an exasperated look. "Please, Denva. He doesn't have your nerves of steel." Jorak turned back to Kentic. "We understand this is hard for you, sir, but rest assured the other Jedi, Denva, and I are working with this new species to sort everything out."

"Tch, at least they gave us dinner," Denva swung one of her arms over the back of her own chair.

Tierra knew the Mandalorian wouldn't eat until she was alone; she wore men's armor and to all appearances looked male unless she took her helmet off, which wasn't often. Tierra had only learned Denva's identity by accident and had been sworn to secrecy.

On the other end of the table, Ackoy raised his thick orange hand to hail one of their hosts. The Qulox, as they called themselves, were wiry, pale-skinned bipeds whose arms and legs ended in a single hooked claw; they had long jawless snouts that ended in a ring of teeth, and a complement of spikes adorning their heads with long twisting dark horns jutting out the back. Their appearance was fearsome but they were a peaceful race, albeit rather primitive; they had just discovered nuclear technology and were still using archaic radio signals to communicate. That was probably why they had never been discovered before now, Tierra thought. It was funny how much could slip through the crevices in a galaxy.

The Mon Calamari and the Qulox spoke briefly; although Ackoy's words in their language were halted and stiff, Tierra could sense that he was using the Force to help him. Pressed into this situation, he'd untapped a facet of the Force that she had never heard of anyone else using, and it proved to be extremely helpful.

"She says she'll take us to see the high chief tomorrow," Ackoy translated for his companions. "Word has spread about our arrival and everyone is curious about us. They've never seen anyone like us."

"I'm not surprised," Lukatz mentioned, tapping away on his datapad. "This system lies in a complicated gravity knot; it would be nearly impossible to find it by normal hyperspace jumping. It's just a good thing those pirates subspace-shunted you when they did or else you could have ended up inside a star."

"Yes, lucky me," Kentic groaned. "Listen, can you just hurry this whole process up? I have a business conference I'm now two days late for. My boss is going to kill me."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Bynk assured him. "The situation was completely out of your control."

"No, you don't understand. She's a Rodian. She's _literally_ going to kill me."

"…Oh." Everyone looked at each other uneasily.

"Drama king," Denva muttered.


	5. Shiftings

"…Ackoy?" Siri sat next to her Mon Calamari friend and he turned off the screen on the datapad he was holding. It was a quiet day in the library; a few scattered students lounged around and browsed the data repositories.

He shot her a sidelong glance and moved to get up; she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Hey. You've been avoiding me all week. I want to know why."

"It's nothing," he mumbled and tried to get up again.

"We're friends," Siri insisted, "and friends talk to each other."

He shot her a glare. "Not about everything. Please, Siri, just leave me alone." Frowning, he wrenched his hand away and stood up.

"Well, fine then." He could hear the hurt in her voice. "See if I care!"

"I never asked you if you cared," Ackoy grumbled. He didn't need to; he knew Siri didn't.

He paused and took a breath in front of Lukatz's quarters before knocking softly. The backs of his hands were squishier than Humans' and lacked defined knuckles, so a soft knock was really the best he could manage. He was feeling literally green around the gills but he knew it was either this, or something he was really going to regret.

"Ackoy?" Lukatz opened the door and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. He was wearing a simple tunic and pants and Ackoy knew he had woken his master up, but it was sort of an emergency. "What's wrong?"

"…Can we talk, please?" the Mon Calamari youth requested. Lukatz had barely nodded in response when Ackoy practically pushed himself inside, hoping the room would be a sanctuary from his own mind.

"What's the matter?" Lukatz had them both sit down on the floor. There was a small fountain in the corner and a scenic tapestry on the wall displaying some pastoral alien landscape. If Ackoy disregarded the computer beneath the window he could pretend like they were living in some ancient, simpler time.

He looked at the floor, glanced out the window at the jungle night beyond, and then at his teacher. "…I've been feeling the pull of the Dark Side lately," he confessed.

To his relief, Lukatz did not act shocked or horrified but merely nodded, silently urging him to continue. "I guess…maybe there are some things here that I'm tired of," Ackoy explained, suctioning his hands together and apart absently. "Like Siri always bossing me around. She's younger than me, I don't know why I put up with that," he sighed.

"Maybe because you let her," Lukatz observed.

"What should I do?" the Mon Calamari asked. "I feel like the Dark Side's been calling to me and it's…it's scary. I can't abandon the Jedi, especially not for that, but lately it's just been feeling so…easy. And I'm so tired."

The wise Knight did not skip a beat. Laying his hand on Ackoy's shoulder, he smiled. "You are a young man with many amazing talents and abilities, both in the Force and intellectually. The Dark Side wants that kind of strength with it, not with the powers of the light. That may be why you're feeling like this."

Ackoy's golden eyes lit up with realization and hope. "I…never thought of it that way, Master Arbalest." That was what he liked so much about Lukatz, the man could explain things in such a positive manner. Ackoy realized that he hoped to someday be that for his own Padawans.

"Stay strong, Ackoy. I know you can do it. Do you want to meditate with me for a while?"

The Padawan smiled. "I would like that, Master."

They breathed together for a few minutes. The noises of the night drifted in, a million creatures crafting the symphony of a rainforest moon. Ackoy was glad that Yavin IV had such a moist climate; if the praxeum had been located on, say, Tatooine, he didn't know if he would have been able to attend.

"Did I ever tell you what I did before I became a Jedi?" Lukatz asked, breaking the relative silence.

Ackoy looked over at him in surprise. "No?"

"I was born on Alsakan," Lukatz related. "I had a pretty standard childhood in the suburbs, at least as standard as any kid growing up in the Empire. Ever since I was little I'd had the unconscious idea that I wanted to grow up to fight for the Empire. When I was seventeen, I joined the Imperial Navy as a stormtrooper."

Ackoy tilted his head in bemusement; he was having a hard time picturing that easygoing smile and bushy dark hair underneath a stormtrooper helmet. It was different for himself, he realized. He'd only been a small child when Dac had been freed from the threat of Imperial invasion, and for him the War was far more history than reality. This was a good reminder that most of the adults he studied under and passed in the halls daily had actually known the terror of galactic turmoil.

Lukatz laughed. "Yeah, crazy, I know. But Imperial propaganda was effective and I was young and naïve. That naiveté didn't last. My first battle was the Battle of Hoth." He chuckled at Ackoy's astonished expression. "Yes, imagine, Master Skywalker and me fighting against each other and we didn't even realize it! We've had a good laugh about it since. And if I never see snow again in my life, it'll be too soon," he shivered.

"…So what happened?" Ackoy asked, enthralled. He'd never have guessed his own friendly, unassuming master would have had such an interesting past. Ackoy had been theorizing that the guy had grown up on a farm on Dantooine or something.

"I got my first taste of war, real, non-glorified war…and it was terrible." Lukatz's face fell. "So much death and destruction and cruelty. It shook me. All the propaganda in the galaxy couldn't disguise the fact that what we were doing made me sick. After the battle, I started doing research about the Empire's activities…and I didn't like what I was seeing. Unfortunately, I got caught."

"Really?" a female voice inquired curiously. Both Lukatz and Ackoy jumped, and turned to see Siri leaning in the doorway, arms crossed.

"How long have you been here?" Ackoy asked anxiously, hoping she hadn't heard his confession.

"Since Lukatz started telling you his life story," she yawned, scratching her ribs before coming to sit with them. "You couldn't sleep, either?"

"What, do you keep tabs on me through the Force or something?" Ackoy looked at her suspiciously.

"Something like that. Do go on, Lukatz! This is getting exciting!" the girl urged, gripping her crossed ankles and leaning forward in anticipation.

"This isn't a slumber party," Ackoy grumbled. Annoyed as he was with her, he was also a little glad that she'd come along to lighten the mood.

Lukatz chuckled in exasperation at his other Padawan and ran a hand through his thick curls. "Anyway. As you can imagine, the Empire didn't like that I was digging up dirt on them, so they tossed me in the brig and were planning to execute me." His eyes lit up and he became more animated, like any proper storyteller. Ackoy got the impression that although Lukatz preferred to keep his past to himself, he also wanted to entertain Siri. "Thankfully, just a few hours later our Star Destroyer was attacked by Rebel forces! They boarded and, as you can imagine, I was scared stiff of these guys!" he continued to the two rapt teens. "To my relief, the Rebels were really pragmatic, and figured that any enemy of the Empire was a friend of theirs, especially once I explained to them what I had found and that I had actually been planning to defect to them. So that's when I began my career as a Rebel."

"You've seen far more of the galaxy than I thought!" Siri remarked, amazed.

"Yes, and under far better conditions than when I had served the Empire," Lukatz agreed. "It felt good helping to liberate planets instead of oppress them. I was even in the Battle of Endor—on the right side this time. Still hadn't met Master Skywalker yet, but it was there that I discovered my Force sensitivity."

Ackoy pricked up. "Really?"

Lukatz nodded. "The first time I consciously felt the Force…it was amazing. There I was, in the heat of battle, and suddenly time seemed to slow down. I was overwhelmed with the sublime idea that everything would work out and I knew exactly what I had to do. From then on, even though I still served in the New Republic Navy, I privately honed my Force powers, and they really came in handy, let me tell you. Finally, just a few years ago, Luke learned about me and invited me to come here, and, well, you know the rest." He sat back and smiled. "That's my story."

"…Wow," Ackoy managed to say. "I had no idea. That's pretty amazing."

"Yep. But the most important part was, I was trying to do the right thing, and everything fell into place. The Light Side looks out for its own," Lukatz reminded him.

Ackoy regarded his mentor for another moment and then turned to Siri. "…I'm sorry for being so short with you earlier."

"Oh." She raised an eyebrow. "Er…that's okay. Thanks." She fidgeted for a moment and then bowed her head, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry for being a prick. I should have seen that you needed some time alone."

"I forgive you," Ackoy replied. "I just need you to not be so…clingy."

"Sorry," Siri shrugged in embarrassment. "I guess…I'm an only child and my mother was always busy with work. When I met you it was like I had an older brother I could hang out with and tease. I didn't know it got on your nerves so much. I'll try to work on that." She steepled her fingers. "Will you still be my friend, please?"

Ackoy smirked. "Of course. I guess I've got to have someone always breathing down my neck and keeping me in line, right?"

She hung her arm around his shoulders and grinned impishly. "Of course! What else are friends for!"


	6. Meetings

Bynk Jes was a Jedi Knight now.

She'd earned her Knighthood on the mission to Qulox, the inhabited world she and her Padawan friends had discovered, where she played a key role in rallying the indigenous species against space pirates poised to prey on their system, and getting a transport full of businesspeople back to their homes. (Kentic Jeckon was, in fact, not fired nor killed by his boss upon his return.)

When she and the others had come back to the Praxeum, Streen had taken her aside, and together with Master Skywalker, in a discussion that lasted for hours, they decided it was time. She had progressed at an astonishing rate since becoming a Padawan, and it was clear that she had finally learned how to tap the potential that lay inside of her so long but had been repressed by her shyness and insecurity, most of which had been wrung out of her by the various missions she had gone on. There was also the fact that, in actuality, she was a fully grown adult and nearly as old as Master Skywalker himself, but had been a shut-in for most of her life, socially stunted and reclusive, and this fact combined with her small stature made her seem much younger than she really was.

Her Knighting had been, by her request, a small, private ceremony that only her fellow Padawans were invited to. Luke had pronounced her a Knight of the Jedi Order and Streen had knelt to her in recognition of her skill, and she couldn't help but embrace him, throwing her thin arms around his neck in silent gratitude. The grizzled old miner-turned-Jedi cried that day.

Bynk's first act as a Knight was to take a Padawan of her own from a small group of new recruits; the Force sparked and leaped within her the moment she laid eyes on Kaila Jerrik. The ten-year-old, dark-skinned, cornrow-haired Human girl was from Kuat, Bynk learned, and had been rendered completely blind in a speeder accident in Kuat City when she was four, which explained why Kaila's eyes were a milky blue and her stare was perpetually blank.

What peaked Bynk's interest the most were two things: Kaila's unflagging perkiness and constant curiosity about the world around her, and her innate ability to utilize Force vision, a skill that normally required years of training, or for one to have been born a Miralukan. It seemed that when Kaila's physical vision faded, her mind and the Force made up for it to the point where she was actually quite skilled at navigating around. The only problem, Bynk soon learned, was that Kaila was extremely good at seeing life forms and types of energy…and not much else. That made things like walls and powered-down machinery a problem. But that was one of the reasons why Kaila and her parents had decided that the Praxeum was the best path for her, so she could hone her talent and use it to better the galaxy.

Now they were on their first mission, on Ord Mantell. It was nothing too dangerous, just an information search, but Kaila was already overwhelmed. "Wow, I've never sensed so many different kinds of life forms before," she gaped, her feet planted firmly on the spaceport floor as she took in the neverending flurry of Force signatures from tourists and travelers.

Bynk chuckled. "If you think this is something, you should try Coruscant. Your Force vision will burn like the light of a million suns."

"I can imagine," Kaila breathed. "We gotta go to Coruscant someday, master!"

"'Scuse me! Whaddya mean I can't park my ship here!" A shrill voice echoed from across the walkway and Bynk noticed a stocky Skrilling security guard that had grabbed a teenage girl by the arm, preventing the girl from exiting a nearby docking bay and joining the throng of beings shopping and conducting business in the city of Worlport. The girl couldn't have been more than fifteen, and she was short and slight of build, with a shaggy mop of curly red hair, light skin, and vivid green eyes. Bynk realized she couldn't really tell what species the girl was; she would have looked nearly Human except for her wedge-shaped ears poking out from her hair, and blue lines and dots running down her cheekbones -Bynk wasn't sure if they were paint, tattoos, or natural. She was wearing an old, oversized shirt and pants, well-worn boots and gloves, and a tattered, dark green cape.

"Yer fifty creds short, kid!" the Skrilling snarled. "An' yer ship ain't in the registry!"

"That's too bad, I got business here!" she protested, trying to twist her arm away, but the guard's grip was firm.

"Aye, business with planetary security fer flyin' an illegal vessel!"

Bynk placed a hand on Kaila's arm. "Come, I believe we are needed," she urged quietly, sauntering calmly toward the altercation; Kaila followed like a puppy, observing curiously. "Hello, ma'am," Bynk announced to the Skrilling. "What is the problem here?"

"Problem?!" The guard gave the redhead a fierce shake. "She didn't pay full docking fee—_and_ her ship's illegal!"

Bynk tilted her head and blinked slowly. "I can foot the rest of the fee," she offered, pulling a credit chip out of a pouch on her belt.

"Sure," the guard snorted, "but the ship is still illegal! Gonna have to impound it—" She reached over to her console to order a tow vehicle, and then froze when she realized she was no longer holding the girl's arm.

"Hey, thanks for the distraction!" the teen grinned, waving to Bynk as she was now sprinting back toward the docking bay.

Before Bynk could stop her, Kaila suddenly took off after the girl as well, calling "_Waiiiiiit!_"

"Kaila!" Bynk gasped and leaped into the bay, running at full tilt toward the jet-black cargo ship whose gangplank the two youths were currently heading up. Noticing it start to close, Bynk launched herself from the ground and tucked into a Force-assisted flip, sailing into the main hold as the gangplank slammed shut.

"Whoops!" the teen chuckled, surveying the two Jedi for a moment before scrambling for the cockpit.

"Kaila, are you all right?" Bynk asked, checking the girl over for any injury.

"Yeah, I'm fine—" Kaila's sentence was cut off by a rumble of engines and a distant, gravity-dampened lurch. "Where are we going?"

"I'm about to find out," Bynk frowned. Taking Kaila's arm, she guided her Padawan to the cockpit, where the mysterious girl was at the controls, guiding them out of the spaceport and, alarmingly rapidly, off-world. "Excuse me, but we have business in Worlport—" Bynk began.

"Yeah, so do I, but not right now," the girl pilot rubbed her nose in exasperation. "Sorry, but I ain't goin' back there any time soon. Don't worry, the _Que Serra_ has extra quarters." She looked over her shoulder at the Pydyrian and grinned roguishly. "Never hung out with Jedi before. This oughtta be fun."

"Can't we work something out?" Bynk offered. "We were on Ord Mantell on official Jedi business."

The girl surveyed the two smugly. "I'll tell you what. I got some goods to pick up on Bespin. You come with me there and then maybe they'll have forgotten about me back on Ord Mantell. Sure ain't gonna try landin' in that port again, but I know a few others that'll take me."

"…All right," Bynk agreed with a nod.

"Seriously?!" Kaila protested. "But we're supposed to be on Ord Mantell! Shouldn't we be stopping her?!"

"Sometimes compromise is necessary to achieve one's goals, my Padawan," Bynk explained. "Besides, who is to say that the Force hasn't had us come together for a reason?"

"But…she didn't pay the docking fee!" Kaila pointed out.

The pilot laughed. "Yeah, and I didn't dock for more than five minutes! So it doesn't count," she reasoned. "So what're your names? I'm Kitts Bash, smuggler extraordinaire." She pretended to shine her gloved nails on her shirt.

"You're a smuggler?!" Kaila exclaimed, and Bynk drew in a breath; things were getting far more complicated for her Padawan's first mission than she had hoped. "That's…so neat! Han Solo used to be a smuggler, too, didn't he!"

"Now, ah, smugglers are not really—" Bynk was rapidly losing control over the situation.

"'Sright!" Kitts grinned. "Mom and Dad are smugglers and I've struck out on my own to make a name for myself and some hefty creds, too!"

"Wow, you must be really accomplished!" Kaila gushed. "My name's Kaila Jerrik and this is my Jedi master, Bynk Jes!"

"A pleasure," the Pydyrian bowed, somewhat exasperated.

"Likewise," Kitts smirked as she flipped a few switches and sent the ship hurtling into hyperspace. "Hope you're ready to see a side of Bespin most people never do!"

"I can't wait," Bynk muttered sarcastically.


	7. Revelations

"…I can't go any farther," Tierra panted, slumping against a metal wall slick with millenniums' worth of accumulated moisture. Her legs wobbled and gave out and she planted herself into the muck. "We've been walking for hours." Her throat was parched, her legs ached, and she felt like she was drowning in the fear that she and Tra'ave might never escape from the nightmarish world that was the undercity of Coruscant. They could die down here and never see the sky again. She wiped her hands on her jacket and buried her face in her sleeves.

Tra'ave sat down next to her, clenching his _lekku_ like a security blanket. "We mustn't give up," he sighed, resting his head against the cold, slimy ferrocrete. "At least we lost those cthons."

Tierra looked up at him. "Is…is that what those zombie things were called?" The Twi'lek nodded. "How do you know that?"

Her fellow Padawan sucked in a sharp breath, his red-orange eyes darting off to the distance to watch rust-colored bilge slop out of an open pipeline and into an abyss that very well could have led straight to the planet's core.

"Tra'ave?"

Tierra's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he rubbed his face anxiously with the back of his hand. "I…used to live here," he admitted in a low voice.

"_Here?_" The Human looked around at their settings, which were unfit for any kind of sapient life.

"Well, not _here_ here," Tra'ave clarified with a shrug. "But…down in the undercity. For a few years. Before I came to Yavin IV." Letting out a deep breath, he shrank in shame, looking at her sidewise.

"Oh…no wonder you refused to come to Coruscant with us the last time," Tierra realized. "I don't blame you for not wanting to come back. How did you leave?"

Tra'ave fisted his hands and pressed them to his face, looking pained. After a moment the discomfort passed and he glanced back at his Human companion. "I should start from the beginning," he decided. "I've been keeping too much from you for too long." He watched her for a moment to see if she would object, but she merely looked up at him curiously. "I was born here on Coruscant, probably just a few levels above this one. My family never really had money. That was why…my father sold me into slavery when I was very young."

"Oh, that's terrible," Tierra commented, giving him a pitying look.

He stretched his neck, trying to ignore her and keep his resolve. He had never told the entire story to anyone and now that he had started, he didn't want to stop despite the sympathetic looks of his innocent young friend. He wasn't telling her this out of self-pity, but because she needed to understand where he had been coming from this entire time.

"My master was cruel and relentless. I was only a child but he gave me enough labor to exhaust an adult. There came a day when I finally reached my breaking point and I knew that I could not go on any longer. That was when…" He held his hand palm-up in front of him and flexed it, then shoved it outward and at the pipe, using the Force to twist it downwards so the sludge could escape more easily. "I discovered I had power. It was weak at first, but every spare moment I got, I honed it. That was how I survived those long years, knowing that if I played my cards right, I might someday have a chance at escape. When I was fourteen, I knew it was time."

Tra'ave clenched his fists and tucked them under his arms like they were weapons he was tempted to use. "I…killed my master and fled his business. Then…I tracked down my family." His voice cracked. "I murdered my father in front of my mother and the little sister I never knew I had. I didn't want her to suffer my same fate. Then I ran away into the undercity. I survived by using the Force to kill and steal, although I was not immune to attack myself. That was how I gained all of these scars," he traced the thick, pale lines on his face, "and lost half of one of my _lekku_. By all accounts that should have killed me, but I had the Force with me, and I was a survivor." Even in the dim lighting he could see that Tierra's face had paled. His brow furrowed as he chewed at his lip. "I'm sorry. I have said too much. I didn't mean to upset you. You…you must think I'm a monster."

She shook her head and place her hand on his arm. "No…how could I think that?"

"Because the Dark Side once had me in its sway," Tra'ave muttered. "If you had seen me the way I was then…you probably would not have thought twice about trying to kill me."

"I've never killed anyone, and I never intend to. You're not who you were then," Tierra insisted. "You've changed so much, even from the day I met you. And you've done nothing but try to be a better person. You've never used the Force for evil in the entire time you've been at the praxeum. You still had that good inside of you, waiting to come out."

The Twi'lek looked like he was going to say something, but his lip trembled and he turned away. "I…I sometimes wish we'd never become friends."

Tierra's face instantly changed and she looked like she'd been shot. "…Why?" she asked quietly. "Was it something I did? I'm sorry—"

"No. You…remind me too much of _her_." Tra'ave buried his face in his hands. "She lived on the streets like I did. She was Human, at least I think she was, and your age. She even looked a little like you. There was something in her eyes that moved even my cold heart, and I cared for her for a while, taught her how to steal, fed her when it meant going hungry myself. Looking back…I wish I could have done so much more for her, but I was lost in a dark place in my mind.

Then…there was a day when she displeased me. I can't remember what it was, probably something petty, perhaps I was just in a foul mood. I lashed out at her with Force lightning…she was dead before I could realize what I was doing." He sunk lower down the wall, bringing his knees up to his face, looking like a frightened child. "That was my breaking point. I finally comprehended then that I had let anger and revenge govern me my entire life, and I saw myself as I really was: not anyone of power, just a selfish and miserable creature who only knew how to make others' lives horrible. I considered ending my own life then. I cried to the blocked-off sky, wanting someone or something to take away the pain."

"…I remember that," Terra perked up.

Tra'ave whipped his head around and looked at her in astonishment, his _lekku_ swinging behind him. "You what?" he asked in disbelief.

"I had a dream about that…" Terra recalled, looking like she scarcely believed it herself. "It…it was the first night I came to the praxeum. I'd completely forgotten about that, but it was definitely you. I saw you…" She put a hand to her chest, her voice cracking. "You looked like you were hurting so much. I didn't know what else to do, so I…"

"…Told me to come to the praxeum," Tra'ave finished, dreamlike, closing his eyes. "I knew your voice sounded familiar…"

Tierra stared at him. "Have you ever heard of anything like this happening before?"

"The Force can work through dreams, or so I've read," Tra'ave reminded her. "It's not as farfetched as it sounds. Anything is possible in this galaxy, really. But…why me? Why did the Force have you call out to me, of all people…I'm sure there are a billion sentients wrecking their lives every day," he huffed, resting his cheek in his hand.

"Maybe because it knew you would listen," Tierra pointed out.

Tra'ave blinked slowly and looked at her. "I'm sorry. I seem to have inadvertently tied you to my fate. You don't deserve this. You're such a good kid."

"Well…well, so are you!" Tierra insisted. "You're the best healer I've ever seen! Even Cilghal says you're already better than her!"

"I didn't want to hurt anyone any more," Tra'ave confessed. "When I came to the praxeum, it was to learn to use the Force to heal and nurture, instead of harm and destroy."

"That's why you never built a lightsaber," Tierra realized.

"I know the intentions behind the weapon are good…but it is a weapon all the same. I do not need that kind of temptation in my own hands," the Twi'lek whispered. His blazing red-orange eyes darted back to her. "Why can't you hate me, Tierra. I'll just end up hurting you."

The Human turned aside, at a loss for words. "…I know you want me to hate you, but I just…I can't," she replied quietly. "We're friends. It doesn't matter what you did in the past. What matters now is that you've tried so hard to change, and you're still trying. Isn't that what life is about?"

Tra'ave stared at her. "If only I had been so forgiving…" he mumbled. After a moment of deep thought, fire swirling in his eyes, he smiled, his scars creasing. "Thank you, Tierra. I'm…I'm glad we're friends. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I really am glad I met you."

She returned his smile and leaned over to rest against his shoulder. "Me too."

He draped his cloak over her and they sat together for a while, listening to the slow creak of shifting ferrocrete and the chthonic groans of some ancient machinery kilometers below them. "…Let's keep moving," Tra'ave finally said, helping her to her feet. "I know if we use the Force, we can find a way out."

"Right," Tierra nodded with a determined frown. She studied the area for a moment. "I think we need to go that way," she pointed.

"That's what I was thinking, too."


	8. New Beginnings

_Thanks for reading, everybody! It's been a long and convoluted ride, considering the fact that I made the core characters up over a decade ago and most of the other characters over a span of several years, so I'm glad it's finally over!_

"Well, I guess there's nowhere to go but further in," Lukatz gulped as the dust settled, getting out a glow rod and inspecting the thick wall of rock now separating himself, his Padawans, Tierra, and Tra'ave from the rest of the mines.

"At least we're headed that way," Siri mentioned, taking her own glow rod out of her backpack and switching it on. "Come on, Ackoy, don't be slow."

"Or we could be walking into a dead end," the Mon Calamari muttered, waving his glow rod in an arc to illuminate the ceiling. "How do we know this path will even lead to the cavern? And how do we know that old Ithorian wasn't completely off his rocker when he told us about it? Not to mention this entire planet is falling apart…"

Siri huffed. "Ackoy, do you really have to be such a pessimist?"

"That was nothing. I can tell you probably about twenty ways we could die doing this. Would you care to hear them while we walk?"

Tierra suddenly stiffened. "What was that?"

Everyone froze. "What was what?" Tra'ave asked her in a low voice, squinting down the tunnel.

"I suppose now isn't the best time to start talking about haunted mines, either," Ackoy whispered, earning him a jab in the ribs from Siri.

"Someone's coming," Lukatz realized, a presence emerging from the Force-background.

"They don't seem hostile," Tierra added, closing her eyes and concentrating.

"I do not doubt that we were not the only ones trapped in this cave-in," Tra'ave pointed out. "Perhaps they are in need of assistance."

"Hello?" Lukatz called out into the dark, stepping ahead of the youths, one hand hovering near his lightsaber just in case. "Who's there? Do you need help?"

"Well, hello!" a cheery, female voice replied rather loudly, startling everyone. The sound of soft-footed steps began to draw near, and the wall around the bend became faintly lit with the glow of a datapad. "Heavens, it seems the power's been knocked out in this entire tunnel! Shame my glow rod's run dry." Coming toward them was a Human woman wearing a faded blue jumpsuit and a utility belt festooned with pouches of various shapes and sizes. She was light-skinned, with bushy blonde hair and blue eyes, and a playful smirk dancing on her face. Her datapad was cradled in the crook of one arm, tucked against her waist.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Lukatz immediately asked, rushing toward her to check for injuries. "Are there any others down here?"

"No, and not that I know of, in that order," the woman chuckled, watching him in amusement. "Just me, as far as my intuition can tell. How about you lot?" She leaned to look behind Lukatz at the Padawans. "Here on a field trip?" Lukatz fumbled over a response, and before he could answer she spotted the weapon hanging from his belt. Her eyes widened and she looked back up at his face. "Is that…are you a Jedi?"

"Er…yes…" Lukatz began, in a bit of a daze, before clearing his throat. "Yes. My name is Lukatz Arbalest, and I am a Knight of the Jedi Order. These are my Padawans, Siri Tachi and Ackoy, and their friends, the Padawans Tierra Arussa and Tra'ave."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tierra returned with a smile, Tra'ave nodding gravely.

"Amazing," the Human woman murmured, looking upon them in delight. She stuck out her hand to Lukatz, offering it for him to shake. "My name is Zion Sunsoul. I'm a graduate student in the history department at the University of Coruscant. I specialize in ancient history which means…well, everything interesting, really!" She tilted her head. "You'd be amazed at the role the Jedi play in every era of the galaxy's history. And now I get to meet some!"

"We're hardly ancient," Ackoy snorted. "Don't mistake us for Force ghosts."

"So," Siri said officiously, pushing herself between the two adults and glaring up at Zion. "What brings you here, hmm?"

Zion leaned back, looking more amused than anything else. "Something told me I'd find what I was looking for here. Call it intuition, if you will. My latest research project is on the Spoi."

"Sounds like some kind of disease," Ackoy muttered.

"It's an extremely obscure myth, only passed down by a handful of cultures now," Zion explained, gesturing with enthusiasm. "The legends say that there were once seven wise and powerful Jedi who learned the secret of immortality and who now wander the galaxy spreading peace and enlightenment—"

Siri crossed her arms. "So where have they been the past…I dunno, four thousand years? Doesn't seem like there's been a whole lot of peace."

"Well…I'm sure every legend has a grain of truth to it, at least," Zion continued, looking a little deflated before perking up again. "And it is my aim to find that truth and bring it to light!"

Tra'ave had been standing still next to Tierra, watching the woman with his fiery eyes. "…She's Force-sensitive," he whispered to the girl.

Tierra glanced up at him. "Why can't we sense it?"

"She's very good at hiding it."

Tierra tensed. "…Is she dangerous?"

"No, I sense no ill intent from her…just things she would rather keep to herself." He nodded, finding that understandable.

Zion suddenly looked their way for a split second, causing Tierra to wave awkwardly and Tra'ave to stare back impassively. The woman turned back to Lukatz and his Padawans. "So I came here on a hunch, and my hunches are never wrong. Well, almost never." She grinned.

"Just a hunch, huh?" Siri asked skeptically.

"Well, that, and a string of clues left in old records. There was a fascinating inscription in the old temples on Althir, apparently an excerpt from a now-lost Althiri religious text, that spoke of some sort of cavern in Kessel, ancient beyond memory, that held a data archive of sorts..."

"…I think you're looking for what we're looking for," Lukatz realized. "We've heard about that cavern, too. We were told it contains the information we seek about how to stop this rogue sect bent on purging the galaxy of all Force-sensitives."

Zion paled, her smile fading. "…Heavens, this does sound serious," she said at length, chuckling nervously. "If that's the case, perhaps we ought to stick together. You never know when you might need a little intuition." She tapped the side of her head playfully.

"We have lightsabers, does that count?" Ackoy muttered dryly.

"Not to mention I know a thing or two about navigating old ruins," Zion added. "Which isn't as common a skill as the holos would have you believe." She smirked.

Lukatz looked bewildered for a moment, but smiled. "Of course you can come. I wouldn't dream of leaving anyone behind."

Zion jumped up and clapped her hands, forgetting one of them was holding her datapad so her palm slapped against its surface. "Oh, thank you! I'll be useful, I promise!"

"Just remember," Siri breathed to her as they started down the tunnel, "I'm watching you."

"I'm so sorry," Lukatz apologized to Zion, giving Siri a confused look. "I don't know what's gotten into her."

"I think I have some idea," Ackoy mentioned, mostly to himself.

"From one adventure into another," Tra'ave sighed wearily. "It never lets up, does it."

Tierra smiled up at him. "Well, a Jedi's work is never done. There will always be adventures for us out there."

"That's what I was afraid of."


End file.
